Alexander H. Cohen papers, Additions

1960-2000 [bulk 1990s]

Alexander Henry Cohen (1920-2000) was a theater and television producer who put on more than 100 productions in both New York and the United Kingdom during his career.

Cohen was introduced to theater at a young age by an uncle. By the time he was twenty-one, he had spent most of his inheritance on unsuccessful theater projects, such as running two summer theaters on Long Island. Cohen's first success came when he invested $5,000 in Angel Street (1941) by Patrick Hamilton, which later became the film Gaslight (1944).

Cohen honed his producing skills under veteran Broadway producer Herman Levin, working as the company manager for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949) and as the general manager for My Three Angels (1954).

In 1956, Cohen married Hildy Parks, an actress who became his professional partner, both as a producer and a scriptwriter. Through his production company, Bentwood Television Corporation, Cohen created the first national Tony Awards telecast in 1967, and both he and Hildy Parks produced the awards until 1986.

In 1999, Cohen filed a petition against the American Theatre Wing, Inc. concerning the Tony Awards name and logo. Cohen argued that he was the sole proprietor of the awards footage from the first 20 years of broadcasts. TAP productions (a teaming of the American Theatre Wing, Inc. and the League of American Theatres and Producers) worked with Cohen to produce the Tony Awards, and believed they were co-owners of the footage and entitled to consent on potential profitable usage. In 2000, Cohen won arbitration in the dispute, but he had died of respiratory failure weeks before it was resolved.